Annual Harvard-Yale-Princeton Meet This Weekend

Adele Jackson-Gibson. (photo by Sam Rubin '95, Yale Sports Publicity)

Feb 09, 2011

Bulldogs to Host Ancient Eight Rivals

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Coxe Cage, already the site of much Bulldogs track and field competition this winter, will be lit up once again on Saturday with Yale Blue, Harvard Crimson and Princeton Orange. This ancient rivalry will be contested a mere two weeks in advance of Ivy League Championships on Feb. 26-27.

The Bulldogs will have the home field advantage this Saturday, accentuated by their successes at Coxe Cage last weekend. Many athletes achieved record times and distances at the seventh annual Giegengack Invitational. All-American senior Kate Grace broke the meet record in the 800-meter run in 2:06.94. This time placed her second on the all-time top ten Yale; she already holds the first position with 2:04.72. Sophomore Nihal Kayali also raced her way into the Yale record books in the 800-meter run. She currently ties the eighth spot in 2:11.86. Freshman Sarah Barry is eighth all-time in the 1,000-meter run after placing third last weekend in 2:53.99. Freshman Kristen Proe leapt 11.26 meters in the triple jump, which is good for seventh all-time. Finally, the distance medley relay team finished in 11:35.27, which is the fourth-fastest Yale time ever.

Both Harvard and Princeton have talented squads, which will make Saturday's meet exciting, particularly in the middle distance and distance races, where Yale has shown particular aptitude this season.

Distance coach Mark Young '68 said that the 800-meter run, the one mile run and the 3,000-meter run would definitely be races to watch: "We do not contest a 500-meter dash or 1,000-meter run in the women's meets in the league, so all of the talent in the middle and long distances competes in those three races only. It should make for great spectating," he said.

So far this season, Yale athletes have posted times in these events that are competitive with those of the Crimson and the Tigers. Grace has the fastest time in the Ivy League in the 800-meter run with her time from last weekend. Her closest competitor is Kristin Smoot of Princeton, in 2:11.64, followed by teammate Kayali (2:11.86). The fastest Harvard half-miler has clocked in at 2:14.15. In the one mile run, Princeton's Alexis Mikaelian has a slight edge over Kayali, posting 4:47.76 to the Bulldog's 4:47.84. Harvard's best mile time this season is 4:53.99. Princeton athletes currently hold the top four Ivy times in the 3,000-meter run, but sophomore Elizabeth Marvin could give them a run for their money at eighth place (9:50.34).

Other events may give the Bulldogs opportunities to best Harvard and Princeton athletes. In the 60-meter dash, sophomore Adele Jackson-Gibson currently has the ninth-fastest Ivy time (7.81), bested only by two Princeton Tigers, with Harvard occupying only the 18th spot. Senior high jumper Emily Standish (tied for 13th in the Ivy League at 5'3'') may be able to show up Princeton's Theresa Kennedy (12th- 5'3.25"). Harvard has a high jumper in fourth place for the Ivy League. Lastly, the distance medley relay team has posted the best time out of the three schools so far this season by almost 20 seconds (11:35.27). Princeton clocked in at 11:51.11 (5th Ivy) while Harvard finished a 4,400-yard distance medley relay in 12:03.44.

Field events will begin at 10:30 a.m. and running events will start at 1:30 p.m. A full meet schedule can be found here. Results will be posted on www.directathletics.com and www.yalebulldogs.com as soon as they are available. A bus will run from Payne Whitney Gymnasium every fifteen minutes.